Almost 99 Percent Human
by Marvelle Petit
Summary: Bulma, a bored astronomer, gets more than she wished for when an alien crash lands on her front lawn. She struggles to balance her growing attraction and aversion to the alien while trying to manage her research. Meanwhile, the alien has an agenda of his own that threatens to ruin her life's work. Vegeta/Bulma (sweet romance)
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is the Teen-rated version of this fanfic. Basically, I'm going to cut out the mature scenes out of the other version and/or create new scenes to keep the storyline flowing. Their relationship is going to develop differently in this one, but the plots between the two will be relatively the same. If you like mature scenes, then go to my author page and read 99% Human. If you prefer cute romance, keep reading~

I did two versions because I honestly couldn't decide which one I wanted to do, hahaha.

* * *

"God, Buddha, Krishna, Amaterasu, Odin, Zeus, I need something to excite me again." No sooner than the words left my mouth the room shook and rumbled. Great, an earthquake. A case of microscope slides crashed to the floor, scattering glass everywhere. The million dollar instruments jiggled perilously. I barely managed to save my telescope from falling to the floor. I set it upright and seethed at the stars. "Which one of you did that?"

I tip-toed through the broken glass to the kitchen to retrieve a broom and dustpan. The distinct scent of sulfur hung in the air. _Did something catch on fire? Do any of those gods govern fire? Well, lightening could cause a fire, but that was an earthquake._ My lips pursed. _Should the supernatural powers of gods matter to a scientist?_

First things first, I needed to observe what went on. I glanced back towards the room and decided against going back in to properly dress. At two in the morning everyone either slept through the quake or were too concerned about their worldly possessions to worry about the smell of sulfur in the air.

None of that prepared me for what I saw when I opened the door. A rather large sphere was in the middle of my lawn. Well, large wasn't a very accurate description. _It's the size of my house!_ And banged up pretty good. Though it sat in a crater, which, I may add, was rather small for the force it would have created on impact, there weren't any skid marks or anything else banged up in the vicinity. The journey to my front lawn probably created those dents and gashes. _But why my lawn?_

The only thing to do was see what was inside. I knocked on it. The plocking sound was not the crisp clang of metal. My eyebrows arched.

I walked around it, and came around to the back, or rather, the front of the sphere. The aerodynamics of this thing was odd. _How is it supposed to enter and break through atmospheres? Fly through space with any sort of speed?_ I followed a seam line that ran across the front and ended up at a small window.

I leaned up to it, but it was too dark to see inside. I knocked on the window. The plonking sound was akin to glass. I knocked on the material of the ship again. Maybe rock was a good metaphor for the deep plunk it made. At least the glass wasn't foreign. Wherever it came from had silicon, at least. _What is the sound of rock being knocked on? Is it more of a clacking sound?_ It looked like metal though, and rock would crumble under the force of hitting the ground from the atmosphere. A shiver of excitement ran through my body. _Maybe it's a new element!_ Maybe whatever's inside will let me take a chip or two off the ship to analyze at the lab.

 _Details, Bulma, details!_ Why worry about the primary element of construction when there was something inside? "Hello," I called, banging on the window. No answer. The crater wasn't too deep, which meant it had some way to soften the landing. If there was organic matter inside, it would have to be okay. So why wasn't it answering?

I knocked on the window again. Which god batted it away from my kitchen? Had to be a cruel one. It needed a remodel for a long time and I'm certain I put space debris on my damage insurance. This was close enough. Wait, would they accept close enough? Those companies were always looking for ways not to give out money.

Hopefully whatever was inside wouldn't be allergic to hydrogen or something. Imagine being the first alien on earth and choking to death on a single atom. A true shame.

 _If it would open the door, that is, maybe I can find out what's inside._

"Hey," I called again, kicking the space between the seams. "Open up!" Still nothing. "What the hell am I supposed to do with this giant marble in my front lawn?" With an angry scream, I kicked the door with all my power. Pain shot up my shins. I groaned and rubbed it. Something clicked.

It opened.

"For fuck's sake woman, _shut up_!"

I stumbled backwards in shock.

It spoke our language. It had a male voice. The darkness cloaked the figure, making it hard to see exactly what spoke. It stopped just in front of me. The porch light accented its form. It was a humanoid male. Not just any sort of humanoid male, one whose looks could earn him an immediate spot on the cover of a magazine. Coming outside in just a pair of briefs and t-shirt wasn't a good idea. First impressions, and all.

"Where the hell am I?"

He had the musculature of an Olympian God. His hair blended in with the night sky. It stretched high, straight up, held up by some sort of super galactic hair gel. He put his hands on his hips and glared down at me, eyebrow raised. He wore a skin-tight blue suit and some sort of armor over it, with huge long shoulderpads.

I cleared my throat and answered simply, "Earth." My voice faltered and came out soft. First contact and I sounded like an idiot. Great. _Calm down, Bulma, you still don't know if the guy is hostile or not._

"I know that," he growled. "I set my coordinates to this planet!"

 _Hm, so the navigation mechanism is able to set coordinates to specific planets, but not the place it lands._ How interesting this machine seemed make a trek through space with fuzzy navigation systems inside. Our instruments were far more sensitive, it seemed.

I stood and brushed off my bottom. "To be specific, you are on 32 Clear Springs Street."

His eyes narrowed. "And where is this 32 Clear Springs Street?"

I grinned. "On planet Earth."

He held up a single finger and sparks flew from it like a malfunctioning circuit, illuminating the area around us. It was almost comical, like cheesy special effects out of an old movie. Those cheekbones, though, _wow._

"I don't have time for your games, woman. Where the hell am I?"

In spite of all this, I didn't feel scared at all. The opposite, in fact. There was something about his face that made me want to tease him a bit. I can't take this guy seriously. "Lighten up will you? Figuratively." I turned and walked to the house, ignoring his fireworks display. "Good one, Bulma," I muttered with a chuckle. The air cracked as a searing heat passed by my arm, tearing a hole through the wall. I walked to the hole and looked through it. It passed cleanly through my entire house.

Any sense of wonder soon gave way to rage. "What is your problem?" I retaliated, stomping over to him. "I know I wanted a new kitchen, but this is going to cost me a fortune to fix! I swear, if you hit any of my instruments I will—"

"You will what," he dared, glaring down at me.

Well, truthfully I couldn't do much, considering he had lightening fingers and more muscles than a bodybuilding competition. There were other ways to settle this. Diplomatically. "Come inside and have coffee."

His brows twisted into obvious confusion. "What?"

I turned on my heels and walked back to the door. "Coffee." He didn't follow, but I went ahead and began fixing a pot anyway. He would come in soon enough once he realized I'm his only option this time of night.

An alien life form. Or maybe a time traveler? The latter would make more sense, considering he understood the language and was humanoid. _Hah, humanoid._ Maybe I can swipe a hair to run a DNA test and see how human he was. Too bad his sexiness was ruined by that foul attitude.

Just as the last of the brew dripped into the pot the door creaked from him entering. "Over here," I called, and pulled out a couple of mugs. "Sugar or cream?" He said nothing. "Never had coffee before? Try it black first. If you don't like it we can add something to it to make it sweeter." I poured two cups of black coffee and picked them up.

I turned around with the mugs and nearly spilled the contents onto his chest. He stared down at me. We're almost the same height, hair aside. He seemed taller outside. The shininess of his hair could land him a starring role in a Pantene commercial. His face seemed to mirror my curiosity, though he had a haughty glare to go along with it, like he looked down on me. That particular expression wasn't foreign. In my field men gave me that same look every single day. "I know I'm sexy but I've been and gone through the whole bad boy stage. A woman like me needs someone smart and considerate. So put a smile on that face and take the coffee so we can discuss what's going on."

His lush lips twisted downward to a furious scowl. "Why would I want a disgusting earth pig woman like you?"

I gestured to my body. "Don't act like you weren't checking me out a second ago." I pressed the coffee mug to his chest. "Sit down and drink your coffee." He stared at the mug for a moment before grabbing it. The chair screeched against the tile floor as I pulled it back and sat. I pulled up one leg and hugged my knee as I took a sip of the best stuff on the planet.

Alien attire looked strange. For once, the superhero movies got it right. He wore a skintight blue bodysuit with what looked like something resembling fiber optics weaved through it. It glowed periodically. That ivory battle armor, that took the cake. Would Earth weapons cut it? Would bullets penetrate it? _I wonder if he'll let me experiment on his clothes._

In any case, it highlighted every curve of his muscular body. On his right arm was a device that wrapped around his entire forearm. It could be a communicator of some sort. There was a screen lit and it had weird symbols on it. I couldn't even begin to imagine how to read that. _Do I even know any linguists?_ The sciences overlapped with the arts sometimes, but no names came to the top of my head. A discovery like this deserved a solid team, not someone who'd spill the beans to media for a quick buck.

As my eyes traveled down his body, I couldn't help but notice his crotch had the same bulge as a human male. _Do his species mate like humans? Maybe they're compatible?_ He didn't seem to notice me staring, probably because he stared at me too. Well, I guess mating was something all species are curious about.

I took another sip and leaned back, trying to act casual. "So, what's your name?"

He sniffed the coffee but didn't take a sip. "I am Vegeta, Prince of the Saiyans."

"Where do you come from, Prince Vegeta?"

He eyed me, possibly with approval. No matter where they come from, royalty must like their egos groomed. If that's all it took then my problems were solved. I took another sip and nodded expectantly.

"I am from Planet Vegeta."

The coffee spilled all over the table as my knee hit the edge with a loud thunk. My cries came out as a mixture of laughter and pain. "It hurts," I moaned though a snort. What did he do, find his own private planet and name it after himself? Why call himself a prince instead of a king? Too much responsibility?

"What is-" he stopped abruptly, staring at me as though I was the one from another planet.

"I'm sorry," I moaned. "Just give me-" I could barely finish in my giggles. "A moment."

In fact, it took several moments to compose myself back to normal. And with a sponge in hand I set to cleaning up the mess. My skin burned as he scrutinized every move I made while indulging in big gulps of the coffee. At least he stared at the clothed half and not the unclothed half. What a gentleman.

"Is everyone on this planet as half-witted as you are?" he finally asked, setting the empty cup in front of me.

I grabbed the cup and walked back to the pot. "Bulma."

"What?" he snapped. "What is a _bulma_?"

Trails of steam hung in the air as I held out the refilled cup. "My name."

"I don't care about the name of some dimwit girl from a backwater planet!"

I shrugged. "Your navigation instruments may be shoddy, but you are a lucky man." _That's not right._ "Alien." _Would that be considered racist?_ I smiled generously and settled on "Prince." He seemed to perk up at me using his title. "My field of research is astronomy. I know these stars better than the back of my hand. My Father is head of Capsule Corp, and one of the things they specialize in is space transport. I'm also a part time study in bioengineering for space travel concerns and as an apprentice of my Father for most of my life, a capable enough mechanical engineer. To put it all together, you just landed in the front yard of a woman who can fix your ship, upgrade its navigation systems, and even give you a choice between the scenic route and shortcut to any place in the galaxy you desire along with ensuring you're not in too bad of health."

He blinked. I grinned and gestured to the chair. With a growl he yanked the chair back and sat down across from me, obviously fuming. After gulping the rest of the coffee in one chug, he slid the cup across the table until it hit mine with a loud click. Before I could be impressed at his accuracy he barked, "More coffee, serving woman."

"Do they have manners on Planet Vegeta, Prince Vegeta?"

"Fine," he growled. "Refill the coffee!"

Close enough. "Of course, Prince Vegeta." He must come from a patriarchal society that hadn't seen the rise of feminism. "My credentials aren't enough to impress you. I suppose actions speak louder than words. I'm going to pack a couple of things before we go. I'll be back in a moment."

"What are you talking about?"

I sighed. "On this planet you're about to be big news. So we can either make a break for it while it's still dark or you can try to battle the hoard of newscasters, gawkers, and weirdos that will be knocking on my door." I stroked my chin. "Maybe even military. That's going to be messy. I wonder if my house insurance will cover it?"

"I can take care of myself!"

I nodded and gave a slight smile while mouthing "Okay."

"I don't need you, woman!"

"Bulma," I replied, rising and refilling the cup with the last of the coffee. I walked behind him and set it down in front of him, dangling my arms over his shoulders in a half hug. "And my darling alien prince," I cooed in his ear, "You're not on Vegeta anymore." With a peck on the cheek I sauntered back to my room, grinning as the sweet sound of his gruff growl of frustration reached my ears. He had a temper, and he was more than a little grumpy (though he did just make a trek through the galaxy), but that made him cute. All in all, not a bad experience for a first contact.


	2. Chapter 2

**Almost 99% Human**

 **Chapter Two**

* * *

I held up my underwear with trembling hands. His little laser beam happened to pass straight through my underwear drawer. And of course all the cute panties were destroyed. The last thing I needed was to go commando around an alien like that. Though, maybe a little sex appeal would bribe him to point me to a planet suitable for the Gaea Project. The thought immediately went to the trash bin. He didn't seem like someone that would be felled by simple seduction tactics.

Speaking of Gaea Project, Dad would be a way better candidate for that spaceship than the government. I grabbed my cell phone and called him. "Hey, Dad?"

"What time is it?" he asked.

I glanced at the alarm clock. "Two seventeen." He didn't respond. "In the morning."

"Still early. What's wrong?"

"Well, to make it short, I'm entertaining an alien prince right now."

The line went silent for a moment. "Are you drunk?"

"It's a long story, but if you come to my house right now, you can take his spaceship back to your lab before the government gets ahold of it."

"How many have you had?"

"Dad! I'm serious! Look, I don't have much time. I'm going to take him to the lab and you need to send a crew to pick up his spaceship. You're gonna need a truck and crane. Thing is as big as my house and probably weighs as much."

No other words were needed. The line clicked dead. Well, I hope he believed me. If not, he'll regret not coming to pick it up right away. Eventually the government would request his assistance, but the bureaucratic nonsense was a huge pain in the ass. The reason private companies like ours flourished was because we don't have to answer to a bunch of idiots in power that don't understand what our research is. Or worse, misunderstand it completely. Space was the final frontier and Capsule Corp was going to be the one that explored it if I have anything to do with it.

Hopefully Vegeta won't cause too big of a ruckus at Capsule's employee dorms. As I sorted through my panties, I felt a distinct heat on my neck. That sort of heat when you know someone stared at you. I cleared my throat. "Dad's stopping by to pick up your ship. We're going to go to his company headquarters and figure out what to do."

"What do you mean, we? I'm ditching you the moment you prove to be useless."

"Take off that ridiculous armor too," I ordered, ignoring his insult. Vegeta's insults were like the little roars of baby lions. Not really effective. He knew as well as I that he wouldn't do anything to me. "Your hair attracts enough attention as it is, I don't need that armor making people think there's a comic con going on."

"What sort of attention would I draw in the middle of the night?" he retorted. "Do people on your planet never sleep?"

I turned around and put my hand on my hips. "Are you telling me everyone on your planet went to bed at a certain time? Was that one of your princely decrees? Ten P.M. the national bedtime? Play a lullaby over a loudspeaker, did you?"

Each successive question seemed to make a vein in his forehead pop out and throb. His jaw was clenched and he appeared to be grinding his teeth. I marched over and jammed my finger into his chest, returning his glare with the power of a thousand suns. " _Prince_ Vegeta, if you would _please_ discard your armor, _I_ will personally draw you a bath."

"What?" he asked, and I'm pretty sure if I wasn't in such a bad mood over the panties I would have screamed and ran after hearing that deadly tone of voice. Maybe this _Planet Vegeta_ was a dictatorship and not a benevolent kingdom.

I pinched my nose for added emphasis. "You smell too. We have enough time for you to at least give yourself a quick scrub. I have some clothes around here somewhere my ex left you can wear."

"Your ex?"

I sighed. "An old boyfriend. Mate. Lover. Whatever you called them on your planet."

"What makes you think I would want to wear a weakling's clothes? Especially someone so weak you thought them unsuitable!"

 _I can't say I disagree, but I can't let you know that. "_ It's all I have. Once your clothes are washed, which only takes an hour, but I suspect I'll have to run that through the cycle at least ten times before it's even remotely decent, you can put that David Bowie outfit back on. But not until after we're at the dorms."

For a brief second he seemed like he would relent, but he crossed his arms and scoffed.

"How long were you in that giant marble anyway? Don't you want a nice hot bath?"

He let out a long sigh. "Fine."

"Was that so hard? Follow me." I lead him down the hall to the bathroom. If there was one thing to be proud of, it was my bathroom. There was nothing better than a long soak after a long night of work. Vegeta didn't seem to be impressed. I wonder what baths looked like on his planet. "How do you like your water?"

"Hot."

"Okay," I replied and started turning the knob for hot water only. As it filled, I grabbed a bath bomb and tossed it in. It started fizzing and filled the room with the scent of passionfruit and turned the water a pleasant shade of purple.

"What is that vile smell?" Vegeta scowled. "You don't expect me to get in now."

"That vile smell is you. I'm not going to sit in a car ride with someone who simply went through a rinse."

"And I'm not going to sit in something that smells suffocatingly horrible!"

Jeez, he's worse than a child. I stared straight into his dark eyes. "Do it."

"Who are you to boss me around?" He puffed his chest out and glared at me with the haughty superiority of a prince. I'm a woman in a field dominated by men. I don't back down from a simple glare. I returned his glare with a ferocity equal to his. Our eyes locked in a battle of will. And when it came down to the grit, I never lost.

Vegeta's lips twisted to a half smile and he scoffed. "Go."

I curtsied. "Thank you, sweet Prince." I walked out of the bathroom and went back into my bedroom to pack. Somehow the alien fantasy didn't quite match up with this meeting. Well, he didn't look like a spry gray thing with huge eyes and a head, for one. And he also understood my language perfectly. I wonder how. Maybe our telecasts actually reached other planets? How rude of them not to respond. I wonder how many languages he would understand. We had a fair share of international employees that could put him to the test.

There's also the problem of how long he would willingly stay at the lab. I pulled out a pair of shorts and put them on. The research sections we were going to visit had their own sterile clothing to put on and layering those over my real clothes made for a hot as hell experience.

It didn't seem like anything we owned would be able to restrain him, and that was not factoring in the magic lightening finger. Somehow I had to pique his interest or figure out exactly what he needs and ensure I'm the only one who can provide it.

I opened the bottom drawer where Asshole used to keep his clothes. To call Vegeta ripped was an understatement. I hope the shirts would at least stretch enough to cover those muscles of his. He acted the part of a roided up meathead, might as well make him look the part too. "Hmm," I sighed in distaste. Even looking at these clothes brought back bad memories.

But, seeing a certain bright color, I did a have a small opportunity to tease him a bit. _Pink lemonade it is!_

I walked back to the steaming bathroom and set down the clothes. I glanced over at Vegeta and saw something peculiar in the water. _What is that?_ I leaned forward to take a closer look. Something long and fuzzy, like a tail.

A tail?

Did he have a tail earlier? I didn't see anything near his waist earlier. Oh wait. I was too busy staring at his crotch to notice anything like that.

Vegeta splashed my face. I yelped and jumped back. He glared. "Do all the people on your planet stare when you take a bath?"

I grabbed a towel and wiped the water off. "Sorry, I tend to get lost in thought sometimes. Is that a tail?"

"Is that a tail?" he mocked. "Of course it is. What else could it be?"

The water was too murky to see his other anatomy, but you never know when it comes to aliens. "So your species has a tail." His hair was wet, but it still kept its shape rather well. Crazy. I wonder if it's hydrophobic like ducks' feathers. I sat on the toilet seat. "You never answered my question earlier. How long were you in that spaceship?"

"Three months."

"Three months!" I gasped. "Where did you come from?"

"Arlia."

"Arlia? Where's that?"

"It's gone now."

"Gone," I echoed. He glanced at me and said nothing in response. "So did you escape from Arlia?"

He stared at me for a moment and shrugged nonchalantly. "You could say that."

"Do you know anything about your ship?"

"What?"

"The propulsion systems, the A.I. inside, what it's composed of, you know technical stuff."

He scoffed. "I am a warrior Prince. Why would I concern myself with useless details like that?"

I sighed and rubbed my brow. "I guess you wouldn't know. How do they measure time where you come from? You said three months, but three months to me is measured by our moon."

"What do you want to know exactly, woman?"

"Bulma," I corrected. "I'm also wondering how old you are."

He growled in annoyance. "My race grows until they reach the age of thirty. I'm three quarters of the way there."

My eyebrows arched. "So we're about the same age? No, you must be younger if you still have growing to do. How long do you live?"

"Saiyans die in battle."

"No one grows old?"

"I tire of your questions, woman."

I crossed my arms and glared. "I tire of your attitude. I'm trying to help you and all you're doing is arguing with me."

"Who said I need help?"

He did have a point there. Then again, he did crash land on our planet without any sort of knowledge aside from the mysterious ability to understand the language. If anyone else got to him instead of me, there would be a lot more weaponry involved.

By all accounts I should feel afraid of him, after all there's his physique and magic abilities enhanced by a quick temper to worry about. But I didn't feel any sort of hostility from him. Honestly, he reminded me of a pet cat. Maybe that's why I felt safe teasing him despite his threats.

"Well, I'll leave you be for a little longer. Put those clothes on when you get out. I think it's obvious which goes where."

As I finished packing, I heard a gruff voice say, "Bulma."

Wow, Vegeta used my name. I turned around with a smile. The moment I saw him, my heart stopped.

He stood stark naked in front of me with a certain appendage standing at full attention. _Oh god, oh god, what am I going to do?_ I stood there with my jaw agape as my mind played through hundreds of scenarios which weren't exactly considered kosher for a proper lady like myself.

He took a step towards me. "What was that substance you gave me?"

"Coffee?" I squeaked out.

"Coffee?" he repeated. "Is that an aphrodisiac on this planet?"

His husky voice sent shivers through my body. "It's just a normal drink on this planet."

"A normal drink?" he repeated, taking another step closer.

I swallowed. "Yes. I mean, technically, it's a mild stimulant, but caffeine doesn't normally effect your-"

"Quiet." He took another step closer to me. "Do you see what it's done to me?"

I swallowed the bundle of nerves forming in my throat. "I do. And umm, you should go take care of that somehow…"

"You will take care of it for me."

I'll admit that it's not a really bad proposition, I mean, he's a really good looking guy – alien – prince dude, but we're also on a time frame, and I also don't know if our species are compatible, and you know, there's a lot of little details like why am I even thinking about doing _that_ with an alien dude prince guy I just met?

 _Jesus, Bulma, go without a boyfriend for a year or two and you go crazy. Have some dignity!_ I cleared my throat and banished all the naughty thoughts from my mind. "Whoa, buster, not so fast. You wine and dine a lady before she does any of that for you here." I put my hands on his chest and pushed him out of the room. "And put your clothes back on!" I shut the door and locked it, then leaned against it and sighed heavily. _He's humanoid, all right. Might as well be one hundred percent if that's what he looks like._

He pounded on the door. "Bulma!"

"You know how to fix it!" I leaned against the door and fanned myself. "How much time should I give him?" Even if he's humanoid, I have no clue if he's human in that department. What if it takes him hours? "Vegeta!" I yelled.

"You finally changed your mind?" he bellowed back.

"No, just tell me when you're done."

"Wench," he growled back.

I giggled and walked to my makeshift lab. If the beam hit my underwear then my instruments were safe, but I still needed to compile my notes to bring back to Capsule. Hopefully he would be done by then.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for the comments! I managed a birthday release for at least one of my works, so I'm pretty pleased with myself. Have a great day everyone, and don't forget to drop me a line saying you liked it, please!


	3. Chapter 3

Just as the laundry beeped that it was done, the doorbell rang. "Fuck!" I swore, opening the door.

"What's going on?" Vegeta greeted me, obviously confused, but thankfully out of that weird caffeine-induced funk. Oddly, as he did, the air felt different. Like there was an electricity flowing through the air around us. The doorbell rang again. There wasn't time to investigate that oddity. I threw on some clothes. Vegeta stood there, gawking at me. The doorbell rang again. I grabbed his clothes and pushed him to the bathroom. "Put those clothes on. We need to go, now!"

"What's going on?"

"The police are here!"

"Police?"

"Just put those clothes on!" I shut the door behind him and wiped my brow. They pounded on the door now. I put on a big smile and opened the door. "Good evening. Morning. Night. Whatever time it is."

The two men in front of me looked worse for the wear but surprisingly fit. For some reason a portly officer seemed to be the norm, but these guys looked like they could join Vegeta for a good workout.

The taller one nodded to the spaceship. "Are you aware there is a large unidentified object in your front yard?"

I craned my head out the door. "Oh my god! What is that?"

"Did you not hear it crash?" the second officer asked, voice skeptical.

"Oh no. How weird. I guess I was out!"

The first responded in a dubious tone. "We felt the earthquake twenty miles away."

All the nerves manifested in an erratic laugh. "How funny! Well, you know I'm a scientist and we keep irregular hours, so when I'm out, I'm out!"

Suddenly their eyes became huge. I swallowed. There could only be one reason why they made that face. I slowly turned my head around and saw a naked Vegeta behind me. Heat rushed to my face. "V-Vegeta, what are you doing?"

"Who are those people?" he asked, ignoring my question.

The officer stared at me. "Out like a rock, were you?"

The other officer looked like he held back laughter. "A scientist, eh?"

I stood in front of Vegeta, covering up his nakedness. "Well, umm, you know." I giggled. "Yeah, I wasn't exactly umm… paying attention..." By then my voice came out as an embarrassed squeak.

"Go ahead and go back to your research. You may hear disturbances from our men."

"What are they going to be doing?" I asked.

"We're going to have people out here to look at the object on your lawn. You may have more people knocking on the door to answer questions. Try to be decent by then."

"And what are you going to do with my ship?"

The officer arched an eyebrow. "Did you say _my ship_?"

 _Damn it, Vegeta!_ I laughed and lightly slapped his chest. "Oh, you know, a little bit of role-playing. I'm the scientist, he's the alien." I winked for good measure.

"Hey, look, there's a weird hole in the wall." The officer turned on his flashlight and shone it at the hole next to the door. He leaned down and looked through it. "Have you noticed this hole before?"

"Oh that, well, I'm doing a remodel, so I guess that's why it's there."

"Ain't no remodel I've ever seen," the tall officer muttered. He shone the flashlight at the ship and back at the hole. "Ma'am, I'm going to have to come inside and investigate."

I swallowed. "That's not necessary."

His partner took a step into the house. "That thing looks like it's open. Whatever's inside could be in your home right now."

He tried to take another step in, but I blocked him. "Really, there's no need."

"It's for your safety."

"For heaven's sake, woman," Vegeta growled.

The air took on the same feel as when Vegeta jumped out of bed when the doorbell first rang. A hot beam seared my arm. I gasped and clutched it in pain. The initial sting gave way to a lingering burn. The smell of smoke filled the air. The two officers were gone. "V-Vegeta, what did you do?"

"They were in our way."

"Did you kill them?"

"I sent them to another dimension." He shrugged.

"Another what?"

He crossed his arms. "Where are you taking me?"

The subject of what exactly another dimension entailed lay on the tip of my tongue, but the officers' sudden disappearance didn't give us enough time. There were probably more on the way to investigate the ship already. Not to mention he looked more than a little peeved and I didn't want to find out what _another dimension_ meant personally. I cleared my throat. "The lab. Put those clothes on and we'll go."

He wore the pink polo shirt well. Really well. It fit him like a second skin. The yellow pants looked like they barely fit. It made sense, he was more muscular than Asshole after all. Though the bunched cloth at his ankles almost made me giggle. Asshole was taller than him in the end, though Vegeta stood out in every other way that mattered. His pointed boot-like shoes were odd, but I didn't have a spare pair of men's boots laying around. Thankfully. Assholes' feet always stank. _Then again, I'm not sure if I want to smell Vegeta's feet after that armor. Three months of funk? No thank you._ I grabbed my keys. "Let's go."

"What is that?" Vegeta asked in abject horror.

"A car."

"I am not going in that."

"What are you talking about?"

"Is that how people travel on your planet?"

"Of course. What do you do, fly?"

He smirked a reply.

"You can fly," I stated dubiously.

"You can't?"

The casual way he responded lit a fire inside me. "No, I can't fly. I don't know if you've noticed on your planetary travels, flying isn't something that most people can just do at will."

He half-scoffed. "That's obvious. You lack the strength to even jump five feet off the ground."

"You arrogant jerk!" I slammed the car door and pointed my finger at his chest. "Do you even—Ah!"

The house became a dollhouse in the blink of an eye. His arm wrapped around my waist and though he was more than strong enough to hold me, I still put my arms around his neck and gripped for dear life. His deep chuckle did little to calm my nerves.

"Where are we going?" Vegeta asked.

"You can fly," I replied in muted shock.

"You can fly," he repeated in a high pitched mockery of my voice. "Where are we going?"

"Where are your wings?"

"Wings?" he replied, sounding genuinely confused.

"Wings are what animals use to ride the currents of the wind and fly."

"What are you talking about?"

Any questions about the technicalities of flying would more than likely provoke him further. I looked down at the city. "It's going to be a facility with a big central tower outside city limits."

"Which direction?"

"North."

The world became still. Everything moved in slow motion. But just as quickly as the sensation began, it ended.

Vegeta nudged his chin forward. "Is this it?"

I gasped. In less than a minute, we were at the compound. "It's an hour drive," I whispered. We floated to the ground. I put my hand on the security censor. The mild heat of the sensor tickled my fingertips. With a loud beep, the doors opened. "Follow me."

We walked inside the main lobby. Because it was late at night, the front desk clerks weren't there, thankfully. Explaining who he was and why I brought him here wasn't exactly something the poor minimum wage workers could handle. Not to mention it'd be all over social media in a second.

"Follow me," I commanded. We went onto the elevator and I pressed B-3, where my father's lab was located. After going through several more security checks, we were inside.

"What's that smell?"

I shrugged. "Sorry, Dad's a smoker."

"A smoker?"

I pantomimed a cigarette. "Tobacco. It's umm, well, there's this substance called nicotine and it—"

"Spare me."

I sighed. "Learning a bit about this world would serve you well, you know."

"I don't need to learn about this world."

I arched an eyebrow. "Why are you here, exactly?"

He looked away and said nothing in reply. "Vegeta," I began, but a plaintive meow interrupted me. I smiled and crouched down. "Hey, Tama," I greeted as I petted him. "Where's Dad?" The cat walked off. I started following him.

Dad sat at a table, cigarette in one hand, magazine in the other. _Playboy,_ the title read. I growled and snatched the magazine from his hand. "You're supposed to be at my house, getting that ship!"

"I was in the middle of a good article," he retorted, snatching it back from me. "You bent the pages. I can't believe I raised such a bratty girl."

"Why are you reading girly magazines when you could be making the scientific discovery of the century? The millennium, even!"

"You were being serious?"

I gestured behind me. "Does it look like I'm being serious?"

He wrinkled his brow and walked to Vegeta. "A bodybuilder? I didn't take you for the type."

"That's the alien!"

"Alien, you say? He looks human. Aside from that hair," he snorted.

Vegeta took the burning cigarette from his fingers. He held it up in front of his face. "What is this?"

"Give it a try, my boy," Dad replied.

Vegeta put it to his lips, inhaled, and began coughing. Dad laughed. "Ah, that never gets old."

"What the hell is that?" Vegeta growled between coughs.

I stepped between them. "That's not the least of our concerns. The police were on their way to investigate when we were leaving, and Vegeta sent two of them to another dimension."

"Another dimension?" Dad repeated. "What is this other dimension?"

"That doesn't matter. We need to get that spaceship of his to our lab. You did send someone, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure did," Dad replied. "Now Vegeta, he understands our language?"

"Of course I do, old man."

Dad stroked his chin. "Interesting. Would you mind doing a few tests for us?"

"Tests?"

"Yes. We need to find out how strong you are, for instance."

Vegeta's face seemed to light up at those words. _Amazing. Dad knows what makes him tick immediately._

"I'm always up for a test of strength," he replied as he rolled his shoulder. "What sort of test is it?"

"Oh, not here. Come, follow me. We can go to the athlete testing labs. They have instruments that can measure everything to pinpoint accuracy."

I leaned over and whispered, "That's not a good idea. He's way stronger than he seems. And he has some sort of magic power too."

Dad rolled his eyes. "Magic, Bulma? I thought I taught you better than that. Come on, Vegeta. We don't need her."

"What do you mean by that?" I screamed at their retreating bodies.

* * *

"Amazing! He destroys every machine we have!" Dad gushed.

"We're lucky athletics is one of our biggest moneymakers," I muttered. "How many millions in damage is it now?"

"If we had some blood samples we may be able to figure out exactly what makes him so powerful. We could usher in a new era of biomedical engineering!"

"If we can keep him around that long."

"He hasn't told you why he's here?"

I shook my head. "And he clams up every time I mention it."

"He seems to trust you, so get it out of him."

"He seems to trust me?" I questioned. "More like he's a half second away from killing me."

Dad chuckled. "No, I can see the way he looks at you. If there's one thing that's eternal through time and space, it's attraction. Even the very atoms that we're composed of follow that rule."

I knew exactly where this conversation was heading. "I am not going to do it."

"It shouldn't be so hard. I bet he'd melt if you gave him a peek or two."

"Dad!"

"For the greater good, Bulma."

It took all of my self-control not to sock him in the mouth. Can you imagine reading that in a textbook? _And here's Bulma, whose sexual relations with the alien is credited with ushering in a new era of biomedical engineering._

"I'm going to set up a room for him in the dorms. I'm warning you, don't make him angry. He has some sort of lightening finger that shoots out a powerful laser."

Dad's face seemed to light up. "You don't say? He can create a laser beam organically?"

I clenched my teeth. "If you die, it'll be your fault."

He laughed. "Don't worry about me. I'm sure I'll be fine." As I walked away he added, "For the greater good, Bulma!"

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered.

As I made the bed, my phone beeped with a message. "Three seismic activities similar to the one at your house were detected last night. You need to find out if he has any friends."

I sighed and fell backwards onto the bed. I wanted to find out more about Vegeta and the place he came from, but Vegeta was the type that would see through a ruse like that immediately. But if he came to earth for nefarious reasons, there wasn't the luxury of time.

"I don't know anything about seduction," I muttered. Don't get me wrong, for a normal person I was considered attractive, and for my field I may as well have been a goddess, but that didn't stop Asshole from cheating on me. At every opportunity, according to some. The girl I caught him with didn't hold a candle to my beauty.

 _Stop thinking about that asshole, Bulma. You're just going to get pissed again, and you and Vegeta have enough of a spark without adding misplaced anger to the mix._

I glanced at the clock on the wall. Nearly six hours passed since we came to the facility. The tests should be done now, so where was he? My stomach growled. I rubbed it and sighed. "I guess I can go eat real fast. It's breakfast time, after all."

The closer I came to the cafeteria, the louder it became, almost like a sporting competition. _Oh god, don't tell me._ I started running and burst through the doors.

Vegeta, on a table, wolfing down entire plates in a couple of bites like a competitive eater. A crowed gathered around him, some even with tablets out, jotting down everything, cheering with every plate he finished.

"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered.

"More!" Vegeta yelled as he put the final plate away. The chefs came out, drenched in sweat, and set several more down beside him. Well, at least he didn't seem like he was causing any harm.

I went to the cashier, who gawked at the spectacle from afar. "Hey, can I get a regular breakfast set?"

"Sorry, all the chefs are tied up with Superman over there."

I pursed my lips. "I should have known." My stomach growled a protest as well. I grabbed a fork, walked over to Vegeta's table, and sat across from him. I took a plate and began eating. The people watching him gasped, and I heard a couple of researchers curse me, but they wouldn't do anything about it. I was co-owner of this place, after all.

It was another two plates before he noticed me. "You!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, me. I'm glad to see you're enjoying earth's cuisine."

"The food here is worthy of a Saiyan Prince."

"I'm so happy you enjoy our tribute."

The chefs brought out more food, and another set down a huge pot of steaming…

"No!" I yelped, jumping up and trying to take it away. The coffee pot toppled over and fell directly onto Vegeta's chest. He howled in pain. The room became abuzz with an electric current. My hair stood on its end. I looked behind me to see a livid Vegeta soaked in coffee.

The only sound was the buzz of his power. A golden light emitted from his body. He grabbed my shirt and pulled me to him. "You'll pay for that."

I swallowed. This wasn't something I could talk my way out of. My only hope was to prostrate myself like he was a real prince. "Prince Vegeta, forgive me."

"And why should I?"

I cleared my throat. "I-I uh, I can make it up to you."

"Not interested."

"I can, umm, I can…" In truth I had no idea what I could do for him. Except… I cringed and whispered, "I can _make_ it up to you." He didn't seem to catch my drift, so I obviously looked down at his crotch and back up. He seemed to understand that, thank god. I almost breathed a sigh of relief. He lowered me to the ground. I straightened my clothes to regain my composure. "Follow me, and I'll get you a change of clothes."

As we walked out I felt all eyes on me. _Sorry, not sorry. The last thing I need is for everyone to know how coffee affects him. That would be a riot._

"Where are we going?" Vegeta asked.

"To chambers fit only for a king."

"I can hear your sarcasm," he replied.

I giggled. "It was a pretty big sacrifice on my part. But it's the biggest we have, so you'll have a comfortable stay."

"What does that mean?"

I sighed. "It was my room, Vegeta. Don't worry, I took out everything girly." _And fragile._

"Your room? Why would you have the biggest room here?"

I put my hands on my hips and gave him a look of admonishment.

His face morphed from confusion to shock. "This is your building?" he gasped.

"Technically my dad's. But since he's going to retire sometime in the near future, yes."

"Come on, the employee dorms are over this way."

"This is a strange facility," he said as we made our way down the halls. "And your instruments are useless. I've broken every single one."

"It's not that they're useless, you're just strong, that's all," I corrected.

He laughed. "Compared to you lot, anything is strong."

I shrugged. "Humans evolved using tools and our brains. We didn't get to the top of the food chain by brute strength." I held open the door to my room and ushered him inside. "You can go ahead and take those off. I'll go get your new clothes."

I went to the closet and pulled out a suit similar to the navy he wore when I first met him. We had several from the athletics research department. I doubted he would appreciate the work that went into the fabrics, designed to reduce sweat among other things, but at least it may make him feel more comfortable. Comfort lead to trust. Trust lead to me finding out exactly why he ended up here in the first place.

As I walked back to the room, the sight of him stalled my breath. If anything, I could admit that he was one incredible specimen of biology. The way his muscles accented his minute movements was breathtaking. I tossed him the garment. He looked at it and nodded with obvious approval. "Where's my armor?"

"It's in the closet." I gestured behind me.

He slung the outfit over his shoulder and walked to the bedroom. As he passed by me, I followed him in. "I took the liberty of cleaning it." _And taking whatever samples I could off the dirt. You wouldn't mind, would you?_

He grunted and sat on the edge of the bed. "Are you going to tell me why I've been your guinea pig all day?"

"Funny, I was going to ask why you let us use you as a guinea pig all day."

He smirked. "The same reasons as you."

I sat on the bed beside him. "There were three others that landed last night, weren't there?"

He shrugged. "I came alone."

"Yes, but do you work alone?"

He glared. "That's none of your business."

"Are you hostile?"

"I have my reasons for being here. And I have my reasons for accompanying you here. So long as you are of use to me, I won't harm you."

"How reassuring," I remarked dryly. It was hard to blame his reasoning, as cold as it sounded. Our new goal would have to be keeping him happy until we created some sort of anti-Vegeta weapon.

But there was still one more thing I needed to know, and I doubt I could get it out of him without a little persuasion. "What will make us most useful?" I asked, rubbing his arm.

"Giving me someplace to train."

"Train?" I repeated in confusion. "For what?"

His brows furrowed, but he didn't reply. A trickle of cold fear ran down my spine. _What if he's not the only one with coordinates set to earth? What if he's here because he's on the run?_

He half laughed and cupped my chin. "You know, I can sense every little change in you. Your fear is particularly telling."

I swallowed and called his bluff. "I'm not scared of you."

"Are you?" he dared. He ran his finger down my throat to the center of my chest. "I can tell here, it's beating faster."

"It beats faster for a lot of reasons."

"Does it?" he questioned in a mocking tone. "Why else would it beat faster right now?"

"If I'm attracted to you it will!"

His eyes widened. "What did you say?"

Heat rushed to my face. "I didn't say it like I meant it, I mean my heart would beat faster if I was, that's all!"

His brows furrowed. "That doesn't make any sense."

"It makes perfect sense! Look, our hearts beat faster if we're excited, if we're moving a lot, if we're scared, if we're anxious. It doesn't just mean fear."

"So what is it you're feeling now?"

"I…" I honestly didn't know. It wasn't fear, or anxiety, and I'm not so unhealthy that a short walk winded me. But I didn't like him. I mean, we just met and even though I kinda enjoy these verbal spars, and he looked really good in clothes and out, that didn't mean anything. I've seen my share of handsome men. Hell, even Asshole was considered one of the sexiest men alive. That didn't mean anything.

A sharp pain against my forehead snapped me out of my thoughts. I clutched my head and backed away. "What was that for?"

"You think too much."

I burst into laughter. "Wow, even you say that."

"It's obvious," he retorted with a scoff. "But as thanks for cleaning my armor, I'll give you a hint. I knew this was earth when I landed."

I froze. He continued speaking. If he noticed my astonishment, he certainly didn't care.

"I knew about this planet for a long time. I wasn't able to come here until now."

I took a shaky breath. "Why couldn't you come?"

He shook his head. "Your father promised me a place to train. All of those things you used today are inferior. If I cannot train here, I will leave."

"What do you need to train for?"

He frowned. "If it ever comes time for that, you'll know without me telling you."

I wanted to question him further, but the tone of voice told me I couldn't ask him anything else about the subject. "Okay. So training, huh? What sort of training do you do?"


	4. Chapter 4

_Vegeta. Age unknown, assumed to be in mid-twenties to early thirties in Earth years. Claims to be a prince of an unknown race on an unknown planet. Superior physical ability due to accelerated amino acid utilization. Requires a huge diet somewhere between a million to two million calories a day to compensate. Seems to process foods more efficiently as it does not result in more waste than a normal healthy male human. Emits an odd wavelength somewhere between the spectrum of visibility and ultraviolet. Can create a sort of electrical beam using his species equivalent of mitochondria. DNA profiles reveal he is 99% human._

The cursor flashed on the e-mail. The government wanted a complete profile on Vegeta, but I wasn't comfortable handing them over everything. They would only use it for nefarious reasons anyway. I could practically hear the military salivating with the potential budget increases due to the alien threat. This short paragraph was more than enough. Wait, aside from one thing. I added, _ALIEN IS NON-HOSTILE_. The caps lock may seem like too much, but if there's one thing I've learned dealing with those government types, the most important information goes in all caps because it's usually the only thing they read.

In the seven months since Vegeta's arrival, we still had yet to find the three disturbances. We found the craters of the ships' impact, all of which were identical to Vegeta's, but we couldn't find any trace of their inhabitant's whereabouts. One of the ships took a bad impact and we recovered most of it, but the other two had yet to be found. Vegeta didn't seem to be too worried over it, but I'm the type of gal that doesn't like to leave ghosts conferring around the coffins, so to speak.

Three knocks interrupted my thoughts. "Come in."

"Sorry to interrupt," my assistant robot greeted. "This package was marked urgent. I think it's those parts you wanted."

I jumped up. "Finally! I asked them to overnight it and it still took three days. I swear." I grabbed the package from her hands, stabbed a ballpoint pen through the tape, and opened it up. Most parts were done in-house, but the particular mechanism inside was best done by the experts over at NASA. I grabbed the small box and ran out of the office, taking the elevator down to the basement.

The device lay in several pieces on my worktable. As fast as I could, I set the mechanism inside and began calibrating it. When I turned it on, it began beeping steadily, showing a hit right on the center. "Yes! It works, it works!" I danced around to the beat of the beep.

A second dot appeared on the outer rim of the circle. I sucked in a breath. Vegeta had to be the one in the center, but the other dot had to be one of the three that crashed the same night as him.

 _There's a chance it won't be as welcoming as Vegeta. But if he's their prince, then maybe he'll listen to him? Should I call him overhead?_ No, something like this he would argue his way out of it. As his muscles testified, he particularly enjoyed working out. Especially in the artificial gravity chambers we constructed for space travel. The stress his body could handle was quite remarkable, really. Between super strength and physics defying laser powers, the engineers were having a ball trying to create a chamber that could withstand his strength. Their data helped the weapons department develop anti-Vegeta weapons as well.

I pocketed the device and made my way to the outside facilities. The moment I stepped outside I heard his howl echoing. _Oh god, not again._ I dashed to the artificial gravity container, opened the panel, and hit the emergency shutoff switch.

Seconds later the chamber opened, shirtless and sweaty Vegeta stepping out of it. "What do you think you're doing, wench!"

I crossed my arms. "If you break that thing one more time, we're not fixing it, that's what."

"I wasn't going to break it," he whined.

"Yeah, sure. I could hear you working on your battle cry a mile away."

"Humans have battle cries too. They're a vital part of intimidating your enemy. In war, you need any edge you can get."

War. That's all Vegeta spoke of day and night. The threat had no name. It was hard to tell if he was the warmonger or if he prepared for some other threat. The idea of something being stronger than Vegeta wasn't exactly reassuring. "Speaking of war, look." I pulled the device out of my pocket and turned it on. The two spots appeared again. I pointed at the center dot. "See that? That's you." I pointed to the dot at the right edge. "It's this one I'm worried about."

"What is that and why should I care?"

"It's a device I created specifically to search for your people."

His expression became stoic. "And you're saying there's one nearby."

"This radar is good for one thousand kilometers from the epicenter, which is this building. Considering it's at the edge, I'd say it's a bit away. I'm going to work on refining it to increase the radius and map it to satellites so we can get topographical information. But for now, it should be enough for us to tell what's there. What do you think? Not bad, huh?" I winked. "You're impressed. I can see it in your eyes."

"Give it to me. I'm going to check it out."

"Like hell I am." I held the device to my chest. "We're going to check it out."

He crossed his arms. "Do you honestly think you can defend yourself if something goes wrong?"

I put my hands on my hips. "All this time together and you refuse to protect me? Man, I know how to pick 'em."

"Pick what?"

"Men."

"I'm not human."

I slapped my hand against my forehead. "It's an expression. Remember? Expressions aren't literal."

"Speak in words I can understand!"

"I am speaking in words you understand. You just don't understand the meaning."

He growled in obvious frustration. I stepped up and glared at him, refusing to back down. The next second I was inside the chamber, pressed against the wall. "You drive me insane," he cursed.

I smirked. "Do I?"

"Yes," he replied, though it was more of a growl.

Mere centimeters separated our lips. How would he react if I closed the distance between us and let our lips touch? I leaned closer until that invisible electricity ignited between us, tingling my lips. But I refused to seal the deal. I stared into his dark eyes, daring him to kiss me.

He reached over to the side of us and hit the button to close the doors, not taking his gaze off me for a single second.

I arched an eyebrow. "Have plans, do you?" As I spoke, my lips nearly brushed against his. Every cell in my body burned with anticipation.

"I'm going alone."

All the good juju built up vanished. I sighed and leaned my head back against the wall. "We went over this already."

"I can't be babysitting you if things go south. It's easier for me to go check it out myself."

"And I need to see what's going on. You can't analyze the situation like I can."

"I am analyzing the situation and it's too dangerous for you, you stubborn bitch," he growled.

I shrugged. "I'm going to get the jet set up. Meet me at the helipad in twenty minutes. That gives you enough time to shower."

"You weren't complaining about my smell five minutes ago."

"It's not the smell," I replied as I pushed him aside, "You look like you need a cold shower." I chuckled as I walked out the door.

* * *

"I'm going to fly," Vegeta said as he walked to the jet. "And there's no way you won't be detected in that thing."

"I'll land about five kilometers away."

"And then what? Hike the rest of the way?"

"You're going to fly me there, obviously."

His expression told me he wasn't agreeable with my plan, but surprisingly he didn't protest it.

"I'm not going inside that thing. If something happens I don't want to be stuck inside."

"Then how are you going to know where to go?"

"I know where to go."

I started to ask _how_ , but I knew he wouldn't reply to me. _Does that mean he's known where they were this entire time?_ My chest tightened. After months of being with him daily I trusted him impetuously, but what if this was some elaborate scheme of his?

"Go slow enough that I can keep up."

"I will."

And he did. I kept my speed relatively slow, which more than likely annoyed him, but it was still a rudimentary item and I couldn't afford to speed around in circles. The flat planes gave way to the mountains and forests. _Of course. Mountains and forests. Perfect places to hide._

When we were about five kilometers away I landed the jet inside a canyon. As I stepped out, Vegeta greeted me with his usual scowl. "Hurry up."

"Hold on, I need to figure out where it is."

"I told you, I know exactly where he is."

My eyebrows arched. "He?"

He growled and grabbed me around my waist and took off. I yelped and grabbed onto him in a vice grip. He laughed.

 _He does that on purpose._ He whizzed through the trees, somehow managing to avoid the branches despite his speed, until we stopped just at the edge of a clearing.

"Don't say anything and don't make any noise." We took a couple of steps forward. He stopped and added, "Don't think anything either."

"How am I not—" He pressed a finger to my lip, cutting me off.

"Shut up, woman," he growled through clenched teeth. We crept through the thick foliage until I could see a small camp. An alien was fiddling with instruments, just as built as Vegeta, a little taller, with a shaved head. But he wore the same type of armor that Vegeta wore when he first came on our planet.

I jabbed his arm. "Who is that?" I mouthed.

"Shut up," he hissed.

I gave him the universal _I didn't do anything_ sign children did when their mothers scolded them. He glared and returned his focus to the alien.

The alien turned around and left to the opposite side of the woods. Vegeta motioned to the camp. I followed him and immediately went to the table with the technology. There was what looked like a computer, but all the keys and symbols may have well been hieroglyphics. "Can you read this?"

"Yeah. It's irrelevant."

"Says you," I retorted. "What's he logging?"

"Everything about this area. The animals, the plants, the soil, everything."

"So he's doing ground research. Is it for you?"

"What are you talking about?"

I crossed my arms. "He's wearing the same armor as you, so obviously you should know who he is."

"And how do you know that armor isn't standard issue through the galaxy?"

I stared at him with a look that said, _do you really think I'm that stupid?_ He picked up a notebook and pressed it against my chest. "Take this with you."

"Quit changing the subject. You know, we still haven't talked about why you're here and what you're doing."

"We don't have time for that right now, you madwoman!" He walked over to what looked like a communicating device due to a ball that resembled a microphone and began hitting keys. Though he was adept at hiding his feelings, I saw a moment of panic flash across his face. Cold fear seemed to halt my heart for a second.

But I couldn't afford to talk to him right now. If I took this notebook with me, surely the alien would notice its absence, especially one absorbed in small details enough to do research. I took out my phone and began snapping photos of every page. Before I could finish, Vegeta's arm was around my waist and we were in the air.

"What's going on?"

"He sensed us. We need to get out of here."

"But my plane—"

"We don't have time for that. I'm taking you back before he figures out who I am."

"And then what are you going to do?"

He growled and tightened his grip around my waist. I held him tighter as he picked up speed.

Questions swirled in my head. He was with me all this time and I took it for granted. I should know what he was up to right now. _Geez, I'm so stupid._

Regret and worry wound itself into a swarm inside my belly. He set us down in the back of Capsule Corp and pressed me against the wall. "Do not follow me. Understand, Bulma?"

There was an intensity to his tone I never heard before. I could only manage a nod as a reply.

He flew off into the distance.

I couldn't follow him, yes. I wasn't a bird, after all. But I did have a phone full of images and a code to crack.

* * *

"Okay, let's see if I can start this baby up." Not much had been done to Vegeta's ship since the initial impact and extraction. We recovered only one ship from the other three impacts and being that it was in much worse shape when we found it, we chose that one to take apart and fiddle with.

The screens booted up and I compared the symbols on the screens to the symbols on the photos. It all resembled one of those I.Q. test problems, especially the visual sequencing. Except this language looked like it combined the brushstrokes of Chinese with the artistic curves of Arabic combined with the pictorial density of hieroglyphics. With English and other alphabet-based languages, at least letters repeated, which made it possible to start breaking down the language and deciphering it. This seemed like it was something akin to Chinese, in which there wasn't an alphabet and each part seemed its own word.

 _Of course it wouldn't be that simple._ Inside the ship was three screens, one in front of me and two at my peripherals. Vegeta's eyes were straight ahead like a human, so while the first screen had nothing displayed currently, I bet it would be full of relevant things in space travel, such as debris. The auxiliary screens had scripts of text scrolling on them at various intervals. Perhaps one was updating the status of the ship, but it didn't make sense to have constant updates. That lead to an overflow of information, and that was just plain old bad design.

I tapped the screen of the phone, scrolling through the images of the notebook. Each page had a line with a peculiar break in between the symbols. It went three symbols, a large dot, four symbols, two swirly-looking things, then one symbol. This repeated on every single page, though the symbols in between the marks were all different.

 _I could really use Vegeta right now._ He wasn't very forthcoming when it came to translation, and sometimes I couldn't blame him, after all, it would be rather annoying to sit there and read mundane things all day, but just this one line could give me a big clue.

The world shook, rattling everything. As I braced myself by grabbing the armrests, a center console came down.

Three symbols, a dot, four symbols, two swirly-looking things, one symbol. Static. Below it, three blanks, a large dot, four blanks, two swirly-looking things, one blank.

 _If that's what displayed when the thing started, that can only mean those numbers are coordinates. Okay, then why are there coordinates on the lead of every page in that notebook?_

The world rattled around me again. The emergency fire alarms echoed. The mechanism refused to budge. I bunched up and squirmed out of the bottom like a snake. I took two steps before everything rumbled.

No earthquake caused tremors that close together. According to the company calendar on my phone, no large-scale experiments were scheduled today, so that rules out experiment gone bad. The world rumbled again, this time to the point I fell to my knees. The sensor rolled out in front of me. As I picked it up, it beeped on.

Two small lights three kilometers away.

 _Vegeta._ If I could get into the jet I could – the jet was a valley a thousand kilometers away.

I glanced back down at the sensor. _Should I chance it by land?_ A part of me recoiled in fear. Vegeta had lightening quick reflexes and magical beam powers. What if all this ground-shaking was due to a battle only Hollywood could imagine? As a mere mortal, I wouldn't last a second.

 _But I need to know if Vegeta is on my side._ A painful ache halted my breath. We weren't together officially, I knew that, but in these seven months I felt like something started. Something small, not enough to call itself a true relationship, but enough that the thought of it being a lie hurt like a crush answering your confession with a wrinkled nose.

But worrying solved nothing. Ever since I was old enough to have rational thought, Father instilled one thing – observe, hypothesis, observe. And to do that, I had to go to wherever those two dots were.

Long before I got to them, I saw the evidence of their clash. The air around the car swirled like a dust storm. The ground shook under me like a boat in choppy water. I stopped the car and opened the door.

In high school chemistry, we did an experiment when everyone held hands and the teacher sent an electrical current through us. The buzz, the slight chill, and the way my hair stood on end, the air felt exactly like that.

The dust did little favors to sight. Sure, my feet moved in front of the other, but I had no way of knowing where they carried me. Winds peppered my skin with the grains. A crackle resembling lightening made my ears ring. The winds slowed. The dust began to settle. The sandy soil turned into rudimentary stalagmites, thin, ragged towers of erratic glass. That confirmed Vegeta was there. His little lightening finger probably created those during their battle.

A body, about five meters away. After a long moment, it didn't move. Dead? Or just unconscious? The smell of charred flesh filled my nostrils. I gagged. Sirens echoed in the distance.

Though his face was badly burned to the point no recognition, the build and armor resembled the alien we saw in the forest moments earlier. And only one person could be responsible.

 _Vegeta._


	5. Chapter 5

"For the last time, it is possible for lightning to form during a sandstorm," I muttered as I tapped send. Less than twenty-four hours after Vegeta's battle and already the conspiracy theorists were speaking their pseudo-scientific nonsense. While I normally used Twitter to do bite-sized tidbits of scientific information or link interesting studies, proving a conspiracy theorist wrong in 140 characters was close to impossible.

Granted, this was the first time in the history of man they were correct in their assumptions – aliens did cause them to appear – but I couldn't mention that. I had a reputation to protect as a prominent celebrity figure in the scientific community.

If I said aliens did cause it, would they believe me or would they think my account was hacked?

The campsite the alien set up was now a crater. Not a single clue left. And Vegeta still hadn't shown back up. Not that I expected him to, but part of me wanted to believe he'd turn up and explain away everything. The other alien was a bad guy, he killed him and now everything was happy ever after.

Things never worked like that. Not in my life.

The printouts of the alien's notebook neatly covered the walls like an odd wallpaper. Of the sixty-four total pictures I took, fourteen ended in the same symbol, twenty ended in the same two symbols, and the rest were oddities. In front of it was a clear plastic board, scribbled in white marker with symbols. We were in the process of screening cryptologists to help us process the code, but it would be at least another two to three days before they could be of any help. We may not have the luxury of time.

"Bulma."

Surely the coordinates corresponded with some sort of numerical system. Math was the language used to decipher the universe, after all.

"Bulma."

I knew the galaxy like the back of my hand. I had this. All I needed was some sort of hint of where in the galaxy one of those points lay and it would domino from there.

"Damn it, woman!"

The world spun around me until I stopped in direct gaze of a certain foul-tempered alien. "Vegeta?" I stated, reaching up and touching his cheek. The moment I felt his warmth my heart skipped a beat. "You came back?"

"Why the hell were you ignoring me?"

"Where have you been?" I shrieked. "You can't just up and leave without any explanation like that. Especially with what happened out there!"

Hot fingers pressed against my lips. "Quiet," he ordered in a low voice.

I grabbed his hand and pulled it down. "Tell me what happened."

"Not here," he replied.

"Yes, here," I retorted. I pointed to my wall of symbols. "And I need you to tell me what those coordinates mean."

A faint smile appeared. "You're smarter than I give credit," he muttered. "Those aren't important."

If there was one thing I learned in the brief moments of our hackneyed relationship, it was that Vegeta struggled with lying. He handed me the notebook and told me to take it while at the campsite. He could read it, he knew there was something important in there. _So why won't he tell me what it is?_

"That battle was you, wasn't it? You killed that alien."

His brows furrowed. "That's not important either."

"Then what is?" I growled.

He took a step backward.

Vegeta never backed down. He was the personification of an alpha male. In midst of my anger, a cold tendril of fear trickled down my spine. I couldn't let him leave without getting information. I closed the gap between us. "You have to tell me what's going on."

"I can't tell you anything."

I put my hands on my hips. "Can't? Or won't?"

"Take things at face value for once."

"I am a scientist, we never take things at face value."

"I'm not going to throw away a decade of plans for you," he warned.

"What are you planning?"

He crossed his arms and glared a reply.

"Then why'd you come back?" I whispered.

"Because nothing is certain in war."

My chest panged as though my heart stopped. Vegeta wasn't a person who would state things outright. "You're right," I replied. "Nothing is certain in war."

His eyes widened slightly and the beginnings of a smile appeared for a brief moment. He cupped my chin and kissed me deeply. His lips spoke many things to me in that kiss, the refusal of a promise, the sadness in a farewell, the painful memories he'd leave in his wake.

Our lips parted, and I brought them together again a second later. If he called this a farewell then I would get my fill of him before he left. He took a step back and I stepped forward, refusing to allow him to escape. His arms dropped and wrapped around my waist, holding me against him.

What were all those months when we toyed with each other? Why did I take so long to find out how soft his lips are, how sweet he tasted, and how good his hard body felt against mine?

I wanted to feel his every being. I wanted to connect with him in the intimate of ways. But he ended the kiss and pushed me away. As I stared at him, his gaze danced around, refusing to meet it.

I picked up a marker and held it out to him. "Please. Give me a starting point."

He glanced at the marker and sighed before taking it. On the sheets covering the wall, he began filling numbers in under the symbols. After he did about seven of them, he capped the marker and handed it back to me.

As I tried to take it away, he held it firm. "Don't follow me."

I arched an eyebrow. "Don't tell me what I can or cannot do."

"It's for your safety."

"I'm a woman who doesn't need protection."

He frowned and let go of the marker. "Don't get yourself killed," he stated as he walked out of the room.

The door shut behind him. I clutched the marker and let a single tear roll down my cheek. It was only a temporary farewell. That much I knew. And if I didn't figure out what those coordinates were, it would be a final.

"Heaven or hell, let's rock and roll," I muttered, standing in front of the numbers he scribbled.

They weren't sequential, but the numbers as a whole were getting smaller. I pursed my lips. This was a notebook at the survey camp. Therefore, they must be tracking something coming here.

The cell phone beeped from across the room. The DNA results must be back. I picked it up and scrolled through the results. Conclusively, the dead alien was the same species as Vegeta.

That raised more questions than it answered. Why attack one of his own kind? I blinked and looked back at the coordinates. Vegeta's intentions were mere speculation and that would get me nowhere. Those coordinates, those were my facts. My foundation. I needed to find out where they were in space and how close they were to Earth.

I took one of the sheets in my hand and went back into the spaceship. At the opening screen, I compared the symbols and punched it in. The screen changed, rendering a screen and pointed to a spot in the middle of space. _Great. Of course it would take me to open space. Can't have things being too easy, can I?_

In the sequences, the last three symbols changed. I hit random symbols. The area of space changed, but still, open space without a single bit of identification. I frowned and pulled out my phone and scrolled to the last photo. After carefully typing the symbols in, the render pulled up a dot in the upper corner.

"Call the news, I have a dot," I muttered. "But what is the dot? And why isn't it rendered with any details?" I rubbed my temple. If it had even a bit of surface detail I could figure out if it was a planetary body.

The next five hours went by slowly, with a lot of trial and error and open space, but at least I figured out the fourth symbol meant cardinal direction when shifting from one symbol to another. I climbed out of the pod and stretched. It would be nice if I could play around with that system without having to be stuck inside.

I rubbed my neck and stared at the papers with Vegeta's handwriting. He had a rather neat hand, surprisingly. His handwriting was better than mine. My hand could barely keep up with my brain at times. Typing was far more efficient but not quite as portable. I pulled the sensor out of my pocket and turned it on. Empty space. Wherever Vegeta went, he was long gone now.

I walked down to the coffee shop downstairs. The barista waved and shouted, "Usual?"

"You know it," I replied as I sat down at one of the tables. Several others were there, quietly taking a break and recharging the batteries. I put my head down on the table and closed my eyes. The cool wood soothed my nerves. In the stillness of thought, the kiss replayed over in my mind. Everything about him was powerful and explosive, but that kiss was sweet. I felt everything he needed to tell me, and things he didn't. The clack of a cup and saucer hitting the table roused me. I took a big sip and went back to huddling in darkness.

 _The answers must be there. I just need to step back a bit._ Vegeta wanted me to take that book because it had something important in it. That was most likely the coordinates. He would want to know that because he would know how far away they were from us. Whatever he's planning had to be on a timetable.

Cold realization trickled down my spine. I stood up. "No."

I focused on all the wrong things. I didn't need to know about coordinates and space, I needed to worry about the development of weapons against Vegeta. All that talk of war this entire time, how could I be so stupid?

He was going to take over the world. And thanks to me, he knew the most efficient way to do it.

"Don't follow me, my ass," I muttered. "I know your game, jerkface. It's on."

I dashed out of the shop and to the military research division. As soon as I opened the door I announced, "Outfit me with every prototype you have."

The researchers stared at me with blank expressions. I stomped my foot on the ground. "Now!"

A bespectacled older gentleman pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and cleared his throat. "Forgive me, Ms. Briefs, but we don't have any prototypes to give you."

I glared. "What have you been doing the past seven months? Whistling Dixie?"

"We have plans, but the budget for them hasn't been approved yet," he replied.

"Who the hell is saying no to that?"

"Err, we don't know exactly how far up the chain our budget is."

I held up my hand. "No mind. As of right now I'm approving all of your projects. Every last one. I need working prototypes and I need them yesterday. Understand?"

He cleared his throat. "That's all well and nice, but we can't put orders in on words alone."

"Give me a post-it."

He held out a post-it and a pen. I scribbled down several numbers. "Those are my personal budget codes. They're unlimited. Put my code in on the department number when you order and you'll be able to get everything you need."

I turned on my heel and opened the door before looking back. "And if you decide you want to order yourself something not related to destroying Vegeta on my dime, I hope you enjoy being homeless."

I closed the door and swore. Even my jet was stuck somewhere in a valley in the middle of nowhere. I had no way to track him outside of hitting the road. And good luck with that. What if I went north and he went south? Or I went east and he went west?

I pulled the sensor out of my pocket and turned it on. The only way I was going to be able to find Vegeta was if I fine-tuned this little baby to perfection.

 _The hunt's on, bad boy. No one pulls a fast one on me and gets away with it._


End file.
